Beware the terrorist threat! Law enforcement officials across the country have been calling for the common man and woman (law-abiding only, please) to arm themselves for years now. To carry those weapons everywhere they go. The fear-based call to action seemed to strengthen when President Obama took office: He’s coming to take your guns and you better be ready to revolt!

Gun sales once again skyrocketed after the Sandy Hook massacre in Newtown, CT in 2012. This was in part, egged on by Wayne LaPierre and the NRA, with his now infamous statement “The only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.” We could spend hours and pages debunking the gun-crazed myths and lies with statistics and facts, but either you’ve heard them a hundred times, or you refuse to believe them. Because Libruls.

Can rural sheriffs protect us from the terrorist threat? They don’t think so.

Following the recent terror-related attacks in Chattanooga, Paris ,France, and San Bernadino, many law enforcement officials across the country have urged law-abiding citizens to arm themselves against the impending terrorist threat. Just in case you run into an ISIS cell in rural Tennessee or something.

In fact, Tennessee sheriffs have recently been very outspoken on the matter of protecting oneself.

Last week, Decatur County Sheriff Keith Byrd sent a letter to the Tennessee Firearms Association addressing the importance of personal safety. Sheriff Byrd added, regarding all citizens owning weapons:

“Not only do I recommend it, I encourage them to.”

This situation has so rattled the Tennessee Firearms Association, that they have called on county sheriffs to take a stance. The same stance that Byrd is taking.

Byrd said he has always supported the Second Amendment. So do most Americans, especially that first phrase.

Byrd was also quoted as saying:

“Things happen in seconds. It takes minutes for the police to get there.”

Let that one settle in for a bit.

According to the Tennessee Department of Safety, more than520,000 Tennesseanscurrently have handgun carry permits. That number may be on the rise. Granted those are only the owners who have gone through the proper channels to obtain the legal permits. The number of permits does not have any bearing on the number of weapons owned.

Instructors at the Nashville Armory said during the month of December, they have seen an increase of 30 percent in their classes. Leroy Farris, the range master at the armory, said the holiday season and anxiety over current events have attributed to the spike.

“There’s some people frightened of any news they hear. Most people, they want to be prepared.”

Gun safety advocates maintain that the prospect of millions of armed citizens is more frightening and dangerous than the probability of an unlikely terror attack.

Beth Joslin Roth with Safe Tennessee Project, which works to prevent gun violence, commented on the recent call to arms:

“I do feel like it’s stirring fear where it doesn’t need to be.”

Roth said one eight-hour class is not nearly enough to learn how to properly handle a firearm, especially in a life-or-death situation. She said accidental shootings pose a far greater risk. All you have to do is scan a newspaper or the internet to see the truth in that.

Roth continued:

“Terrorism is something we should be mindful of, but I don’t think it’s the imminent threat that the news stories I see come across my desk multiple times every day are.”

The local NBC affilate, WSMV reached out to the Tennessee Sheriff’s Association. A spokesperson said while they support the Second Amendment, they are going to let every sheriff speak for himself.